Review: Rodham

Rodham
By Curtis Sittenfeld
416 pages
Published May 19, 2020
Random House
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About the Book:

From the New York Times bestselling author of American Wife and Eligible, a novel that imagines a deeply compelling what-might-have-been: What if Hillary Rodham hadn’t married Bill Clinton?

In 1971, Hillary Rodham is a young woman full of promise: Life magazine has covered her Wellesley commencement speech, she’s attending Yale Law School, and she’s on the forefront of student activism and the women’s rights movement. And then she meets Bill Clinton. A handsome, charismatic southerner and fellow law student, Bill is already planning his political career. In each other, the two find a profound intellectual, emotional, and physical connection that neither has previously experienced.

In the real world, Hillary followed Bill back to Arkansas, and he proposed several times; although she said no more than once, as we all know, she eventually accepted and became Hillary Clinton.

But in Curtis Sittenfeld’s powerfully imagined tour-de-force of fiction, Hillary takes a different road. Feeling doubt about the prospective marriage, she endures their devastating breakup and leaves Arkansas. Over the next four decades, she blazes her own trail—one that unfolds in public as well as in private, that involves crossing paths again (and again) with Bill Clinton, that raises questions about the tradeoffs all of us must make in building a life.

Brilliantly weaving a riveting fictional tale into actual historical events, Curtis Sittenfeld delivers an uncannily astute and witty story for our times. In exploring the loneliness, moral ambivalence, and iron determination that characterize the quest for political power, as well as both the exhilaration and painful compromises demanded of female ambition in a world still run mostly by men, Rodham is a singular and unforgettable novel.

 

4.5 stars! What a fantastic read! This  book was both entertaining and an impressive work of historical fiction. The book explored the "what if" alternate reality: What if Hillary didn't marry Bill? As mentioned in Sittenfeld's author's note at the end of the book, she did an extraordinary amount of research on the lives of both Hillary and BIll in order to write this book, and her research and creativity of weaving in fictional events using real characters was masterfully done. Some historical events past the time she would've married Bill were still the same--and some were vastly different. I couldn't put the book down because I had to know--were things the same? Or different?

 The book was a perfect escape  from our current reality and showcased how such decisions can alter your life and the lives of others so dramatically.   I don't want to give too much away about Hillary's life after choosing not to marry Bill--but it was entertaining to see her cross paths with current and past real life people in this alternate reality--I was literally laughing out loud in some parts. This book also showcased the difficulty of being a woman in American politics, as Hillary encountered in her real life. I can see this book being perfect for book club discussions, and I look forward to you all reading it so you can discuss with me!